NEW DELHI: Making it the third such deal announced in three weeks, Reliance Industries (RIL) on Wednesday said that private equity (PE) firm General Atlantic would invest Rs 3,675 crore into Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd in exchange for a 0.84 per cent stake. Existing investor Silver Lake also announced on the day that it would invest another Rs 1,875 crore in the company.
This makes General Atlantic a repeat investor in Ambani’s consumer businesses, since it had invested $873 million in Jio Platforms in May for a 1.3 per cent stake. Unlike Jio Platforms, however, a strategic investor is yet to be inducted into the firm and analysts expect RIL will rope in a retail company as a strategic partner.
So far, PE firms Silver Lake, KKR and General Altantic have together put in Rs 18,600 crore into Reliance Retail. The fresh investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity of Rs 4.2 lakh crore. “We look forward to leveraging General Atlantic’s extensive expertise at the intersection of technology and consumer businesses, and two decades of experience investing in India, as we create a disruptive New Commerce platform to redefine retail,” said Mukesh Ambani, CMD, RIL.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Retail and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP were legal counsel for GA.